If your spouse left you and your children, but you're still technically married, you may be able to file for head of household status.

It gives you a more generous standard deduction and other benefits than filing single or as a married person filing separately, which many people in this situation do, said Andrew Phillips, director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block.

To qualify, your spouse must have been gone for the last six months of 2017. You must have an underage child whose main home for more than half the year was your home and for whom you may claim an exemption.

In addition, you must have paid for more than half the household expenses for the year and file a tax return separate from your absent spouse.

3. Moving expenses

If you had to move long distance for work last year, you're allowed to deduct any moving-related expenses unreimbursed by your employer or if you're self-employed.

You don't have to itemize to take this deduction. But note, this is your last chance to take it for the next 8 years, since the new law eliminates it through 2025.

If you drive for work you may deducta portion of the miles you log, as long as you meet certain criteria and itemize your deductions.

You may not, for instance, deduct the miles you rack up commuting to and from work.

For Uber, Lyft and other car-service drivers, you can count both the miles driven with a passenger, as well asthe miles driven between passengers, Phillips said.

The only catch: The mileage deduction counts toward your "miscellaneous" deductions. To claim them, all your miscellaneous deductions combined must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income. And only the portion above the 2% threshold will be deductible.

This deduction, like all miscellaneous deductions, is eliminated under the new law. So you might want to negotiate reimbursement terms with your employer going forward, said Chris Hardy, an enrolled agent and certified financial planner with Paramount Tax and Accounting in Suwanee, Georgia.

5. Other job-related expenses

There are a host of other work-related expenses that may be deductible if you're a salaried or wage employee, so long as your employer hasn't reimbursed you for them.

These include license fees, legal fees related to doing or keeping your job, tools and supplies for work, dues paid to your union and any professional societies, and uniforms.

Like the mileage deduction, however, job-related expenses are grouped in with miscellaneous deductions subject to the 2% rule.

Other miscellaneous deductions include tax preparation fees, legal fees for tax advice, and hobby expenses but only up to the amount of income you made off your hobby.

6. Gambling losses

If you enjoy wagering, you're allowed to deduct your losses but only up to the amount of your winnings for the year, and only if you itemize.

If you itemize your deductions and live in a state that imposes an annual personal property tax based on the value of your car, you may deduct that tax on your federal return, Phillips said.

The tax is usually part of your yearly registration fee. Some of that fee may be based on the weight of your vehicle, but only the portion of the fee based on the value of your car is deductible, according to the IRS.

Going forward, you may still take this deduction, but it will be subject to a new $10,000 cap on all state and local tax deductions, which include income and property tax deductions.

8. Medical expenses

You can take this deduction if you itemize, and the new tax law made it a little easier to take, temporarily.

The general rule is that you may deduct any unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income. But that threshold is lowered to 7.5% of AGI for tax years 2017 and 2018 only.

9. Reinvested dividends

If you sold a long-held stock or mutual fund in 2017, you'll owe tax on any capital gain, which is the difference between your purchase price (aka your "cost basis") and the price you sold the investment for.

But if you've been reinvesting your dividends all along, that money gets added to your cost basis, Hardy said.

And that will reduce the overall tax you owe on your capital gains.

10. Private mortgage insurance premiums

If you itemize deductions, you're allowed to deduct the PMI payments you made last year on loans taken out after 2006.

You only have to pay PMI if you put down less than 20% on the home you bought.

You can't take the deductionif your AGI isover $110,000.

This break had expired but was given a one-year extension under a recent spending deal passed by Congress.

11. Home equity interest

If you've taken out a home equity loan or line of credit, you may still deduct the interest you pay on it for 2017.

But per guidance from the IRS, from 2018 through 2025, you will only be able to deduct the interest if you use the money for home improvement.